


The Perils Of Marcy Wu

by RySenkari



Category: Amphibia (Cartoon)
Genre: F/F, Hurt/Comfort, Kidnapping, Mild Language, Peril, annarcy, marcanne, mild violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-23
Updated: 2020-09-23
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:20:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,717
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26613607
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RySenkari/pseuds/RySenkari
Summary: When a rogue toad criminal breaks out of prison to continue his vendetta against Amphibia's three human visitors, Marcy finds himself in his sights, and ultimately in his clutches. With seemingly no way out, will she really be content to let Anne protect her again? Or will she even have a choice in the matter?
Relationships: Anne Boonchuy/Marcy Wu
Comments: 1
Kudos: 65





	The Perils Of Marcy Wu

**Author's Note:**

> This fanfic is a sequel to my earlier work "Savior Self", and references some characters/situations from that story, so if you haven't read it yet, you may want to do so.

Marcy Wu had spent the last few months of her life in Newtopia. She'd gotten to see and do some pretty amazing things, but every day was like another adventure for her. She felt refreshed, she felt alive, like she was the protagonist of her own JRPG... but the last couple weeks had been the best of all, because she'd gotten to spend them with her best friend Anne Boonchuy. She'd been looking for clues about Anne and their friend Sasha, but she'd had no luck finding them until Anne and her adopted frog family landed right at the gates of the city! Since then, the two had seen each other almost every day! Sure, Anne was still spending more time with the Plantars, but Marcy still had plenty of time to catch up and go on adventures with her, and now, the two were looking for a way home. They both knew that their best way home lay with the mysterious box that had brought them here in the first place, so Marcy and Newtopia's king, Andrias, had done plenty of studying to learn about the box's secrets. They were making progress, but still needed more time...

But one day, a strange letter had been fired through the window of Marcy's room at the palace. It promised a lead as to just what the box was and how it could be used to get the three girls home. The letter hadn't said much, but it had instructed Marcy to come to a place called Redscar Alley, in Newtopia's slum district. The alley was in a location densely packed with shops and apartments, definitely one of the poorer sections of Newtopia, and one that Marcy had been warned away from by Lady Olivia more than once. Still, the letter promised a way home, and as Marcy walked down the narrow streets of the slum district, she couldn't help but think how much this reminded her of the city of Satropolis from _Vagabondia Chronicles_!

“Let's see, Diviner's Way, Detritus Square... ah, Redscar Alley! Just need to make a right turn here, and-”

Marcy stumbled forward as she tripped over some trash that had been left in the street. She let out a scream, but quickly regained her footing and stumbled into the alley, breathing a quiet sigh.

“Guess I should watch my step, huh? Now let's see, the guy who sent the letter said to meet him here...”

Marcy could see tall buildings lining the alley on either side, but no signs of anyone nearby. It was deserted, but she felt confident and calm as she walked, knowing that she had her crossbow if she met anyone who wanted to mess with her.

“Hello?” called Marcy, looking back and forth. She had reached the center of the alley, but still couldn't see anyone, and she lowered her hood to get a better look at her surroundings. She thought she could hear someone shuffling nearby, but when she turned her head in that direction, there was no one there, and she started to wonder if someone was playing a prank on her. _Maybe it's Sasha! She always did like to mess with Anne and-_

Suddenly, Marcy could feel a pricking on the back of her neck. She reached up and felt a dart embedded half an inch into her skin.

“Ow!” Marcy pulled out the dart and looked at it. “That's not very...f...f....”

She began to feel woozy, and realized immediately that the dart was poisoned. She barely had time to be startled before her vision went black and she fell unconscious to the alley floor.

O-O-O

When Marcy awoke, she was still woozy, and her vision was blurred, though she could see that she was in a small, dark room. From the meager furnishings and objects strewn everywhere, she got the sense that she was in somebody's apartment, a small, one room dwelling, and that the person occupying this room was somewhat messy, but hadn't been here very long. Before she had too much time to analyze her surroundings further, her attention was quickly diverted to the fact that she couldn't move her arms, or her legs. She looked down and could see ropes around her chest, and more of them around her ankles, which had been tied separately to the two front legs of the chair, her feet about an inch off the ground.

_Welp, that's not good,_ thought Marcy, realizing at the same time that her wrists were tied behind her back, and that someone had also taken off her cloak... though thankfully, the rest of her clothing was still present.  _Whoever tied me up probably went through my stuff. Definitely not good._

Marcy began to struggle to test the strength of her bindings, but despite her training and the fact that she'd “leveled up” since coming to Newtopia, the ropes weren't about to budge. Even though Newtopian rope didn't have the tensile strength to support her entire weight, it was more than enough to keep her pinned down, and she didn't have the strength to break it, or the flexibility to slip out.

“Hello?” Marcy called out, looking around the room. She could see a couple of wanted posters pinned to the wall, with one of them depicting Grime, the leader of the toads, and someone Anne had told her about... while the other depicted Sasha. _This person knows Sasha? Maybe this person IS Sasha! But why would Sasha kidnap me?_

Marcy was no stranger to being tied up by Sasha... one of her famous “scare dares” from their slumber parties had involved her, Anne, lots of duct tape, and some toothpaste... but that was a prank, this situation seemed a lot more serious.

_Maybe this person's hunting all of us. If that's the case, that means Anne might be in trouble too!_

Now, Marcy started to get worried. Sure, being tied up inside some creepy stranger's apartment was worrisome enough, but when Anne was added to the mix, things got real in a hurry, and Marcy intensified her struggles, hoping that her captor wasn't planning on bringing her friend into this. But before Marcy could spend too much time struggling, the door opened, and a cloaked figure entered.

“Hey, who are you? Let me go!” Marcy protested, as the figure lowered their hood to reveal the face of a toad... one who was somewhat more pale and thin than Grime from the wanted poster... a toad Marcy had never seen before. “What do you want with me?”

“My name is Thorne,” said the toad, walking over to Marcy. “And it's not just you I'm after... it's all of your friends.”

_Thorne..._ Marcy's mind raced, but it only took her a couple of seconds to remember. “You're the toad who kidnapped Anne and Sasha!”

“So you've heard of me,” said Thorne, pacing around the chair to check Marcy's bonds and to see if they needed reinforcing. “So they _are_ here.”

Anne had told Marcy about all of her adventures in Amphibia... not just the pleasant ones, but the unpleasant ones as well... including Anne and Sasha's fight at Toad Tower, and of course, their run-in with a particularly cruel toad named Thorne, who'd kidnapped Sasha to get to Grime, only for Anne to show up and be captured with her... and then nearly killed by drowning, saved by Sasha at the last second. Anne was still slightly traumatized from the incident, and Marcy had spent a lot of time comforting her friend, and promising that she'd never have to deal with Thorne again, especially since he was supposed to have been locked up. Now that he was here, and Marcy had the chance to face him, she also had a chance to give this guy a piece of her mind... which she proceeded to do despite being tied to a chair and completely at his mercy.

“You're a jerk!” Marcy shouted, looking back at Thorne as he stood behind her chair. “Anne told me all about you! You tried to kill her!”

“And I would've succeeded, if not for-”

“That meddling Sasha?” said Marcy with a smirk, finishing Thorne's sentence.

“I was going to say 'that blonde-haired bitch', but-”

“Hey, Sasha's not... that,” said Marcy, reluctant to swear even though her parents were in a completely different world. “And don't call my friends names! They're brave and smart, a lot braver and smarter than a coward like you who resorts to kidnapping and trickery to get what they want!”

Marcy was quite proud of her defiant little speech... it sounded a lot like Princess Abermarle from  _Vagabondia Chronicles_ , talking back to the evil Mage Lord after he threatened her friends to get her to surrender her kingdom. Thorne was quite annoyed, however, and walked back around in front of Marcy to remind her of the situation she was in.

“You're here because you humans are a threat to our world, a far greater threat even than Grime... especially since he's currently out of the picture. I failed to stop you before, but I'm going to stop you now... and I'm going to use you to lure your little friend Anne here so I have you both at my mercy.”

“Yeah, that's not gonna happen,” said Marcy. She was nervous about her situation, but not at all intimidated by this cowardly kidnapper, and leaned forward a bit to let him know that she was still quite capable of fighting him as soon as she got free. “If Anne _does_ come here, she's gonna kick your butt! And that's assuming I don't get free first, which....”

Marcy began to struggle again, her crossed wrists flexing in their bonds. She still hadn't made any progress in getting free, but she wanted to let Thorne know that she was definitely working on it!

“Which... I'm really close to doing!”

Thorne just laughed, and turned away from Marcy for a moment as she continued to talk, trying her best to keep her composure and to show him that she wasn't scared.

“How'd you get out of jail, anyway?” she asked.

“Since Toad Tower fell, the new facility for jailing prisoners in that part of the world was somewhat... lacking. It was no problem for someone like me to find a way out,” said Thorne, turning back toward Marcy. “And once I got out, I managed to find my way here... where I learned about your little heroics.”

“I wouldn't call my heroics little, honestly,” said Marcy with a shrug of her shoulders. “I mean, I did stop the Barbariants from wiping out the city, and I've been appointed-”

“Chief Ranger of the Newtopian Night Guard, I'm well aware,” said Thorne. “I've done my homework... I know all about your time here, and I know that Anne's in the city as well. I also know that Sasha's out on the run... but I'll find her soon enough, and then I'll get that box and end the threat to Amphibia once and for all.”

“Ugh, we're not a threat, we're trying to leave!” shouted Marcy, continuing to struggle and getting more and more frustrated with her current predicament.

“You're not going anywhere,” replied Thorne. “I've made quite sure of that, you won't be slipping out of those ropes.”

Marcy rolled her eyes.

“I _hate_ the Damsel in Distress trope, it's so overused and cliched... I mean, just because I'm a girl doesn't mean I'm some prize to be rescued, you know? Like, every video game, every cartoon, every movie, you see a girl, she gets captured and tied up by the bad guys! It's so tiresome! Why not have the _guy_ need rescuing once in a while? Or, I dunno, not have anyone need rescuing at all?”

Marcy continued to rant, and Thorne let out a sigh. He walked over to a small desk in the corner of the room.

“She's so insufferable,” he muttered to himself. “She's worse than the blonde...”

He opened the desk drawer and sighed again. He no longer had his slime roller, but he had picked up some human artifacts during his travels that would prove quite useful in this situation. He pulled out a roll of duct tape from the drawer and walked back over to his captive.

“And all I'm wondering is, why do they keep getting captured every single episode? They're supposed to be super skilled spies, but it just seems like every mission is an excuse to have them tied up, and it's so-”

Marcy was interrupted by the sound of Thorne tearing a strip of tape from the roll. She glared harshly at him.

“Oh, come on, don't tape my mouth, that's just another cliche- mmmph!”

Marcy soon found herself silenced by the tape being pressed over her lips. She glared at him and let out an angry squeal, beginning to work her mouth under the sticky tape as she continued to issue muffled shouts and complaints.

“Now that you're properly silenced, I'd better get to work... I still need to bring your friend Anne here after all,” said Thorne.

_No!_ shouted Marcy, narrowing her eyes at him.  _Don't you dare hurt Anne!_

Despite her fear, Marcy still found the courage to protest, and continued to move her lips around under the tape in an effort to free up her mouth. Thorne laughed smugly, putting his hand on his hip and watching with amusement as his captive tried to get the tape off.

“Don't worry, once she's here things will proceed quickly... for you, at least. I plan to make Anne suffer for humiliating me.”

Marcy growled under her gag, renewing her efforts to push it off... and a few seconds later, her tongue emerged from under the tape. She pushed against it until one side was completely off, giving a triumphant shout as she was free to speak again.

“Ha!” laughed Marcy, smirking proudly at Thorne. “That's another thing, whenever they tape someone's mouth on TV, they only use one piece! Why doesn't anyone ever try using their tongue to get it off, I mean seriously!”

Thorne groaned in annoyance, and reached over to peel the tape from the side of Marcy's mouth.

“I don't know what this TV is... is it that strange contraption that displays images when you press buttons that I found inside your cloak?”

“Oh _no_ , you took my Nintendo Switch?!” Marcy shouted in dismay. “...did you at least play _Vagabondia Chronicles_?”

“I have no idea what either of those things are.”

“Do you want me to tell you? Come on, just let me describe the first hour of the game! If you untie me, I'll help you get started!”

Thorne wasn't in the mood for any more of the human's strange rantings, and he needed to hurry if he was going to set his plan into motion. He picked up the roll of duct tape and stretched it out again.

“You'd better not hurt my friends, and you'd better give me back my Switch!” shouted Marcy, starting to struggle in the chair as Thorne got ready to silence her a second time. “...I mean, I'd prefer that you not hurt my friends more than giving me my Switch back, but if you could leave both of them alone, that'd be... you're gagging me again, aren't you?”

“That's right,” said Thorne, before pressing the tape back down over Marcy's lips. This time, he didn't take any chances... he wrapped the tape over her head several times, pulling it tightly and not even bothering to keep her hair out of the way. Marcy let out a muffled shriek as the tape went across her face, yanking several strands of her hair somewhat painfully, but was powerless to stop her toad captor from securing the tape even further before tearing it off after half a dozen times around her head. “Try to tell me not to hurt your friends _now_.”

Marcy just glared at Thorne, though she was still wincing a bit from the feeling of her skin and hair being squeezed and tugged by the tightness of the duct tape. She tried to open her mouth, pushing her tongue against her lips, but this time, her lips were well and truly stuck... she wouldn't be pushing that tape off any time soon.

_I guess it's better than when I pushed the tape off during Sasha's scare dare and she shoved Anne's socks in my mouth..._ thought Marcy, her eyes following Thorne as he paced around her chair once more.  _Anne, I'm sorry for getting captured like this. I hope you don't fall into his trap like I did... ugh, I can't think like that, I gotta get out of here! I told Anne I could handle myself, now I need to prove it! Plus, this jerk has to pay for hurting her and Sasha!_

“Time to go let your friend know that you're here,” said Thorne, leaning in and smiling at Marcy, who could do little else but struggle and shriek in her bonds. “And then the threat of the jeweled box will be ended forever...”

_Let me go!_ Marcy shouted, watching as Thorne walked toward the door.  _You won't get away with this!_

“I already have,” Thorne replied, putting his hand on the doorknob. Marcy's eyes went wide.

_Noooooooooooooo!_ she shrieked under her gag, groaning and cringing.  _Another dumb cliché! I walked right into that one, stupid Marcy, stupid stupid stupid!_

Thorne opened the door and stepped out, leaving Marcy alone in his apartment, helpless in the dark, unable to do anything but struggle futilely in her bindings. She groaned again, letting out a few more frustrated squeals and trying her best to slip out of her wrist bonds, but the ropes refused to move, even with the slight bit of sweat she'd worked up. She sighed, bowed her head, let out a sigh, and tried to gather her thoughts.

_Okay. So I'm tied up and gagged in some dark and dingy apartment, by some weirdo who knows who me, Anne, and Sasha are and who knows about that box._

She looked around as best she could, though since she was facing the door, she couldn't really get a good look at the back of the room without straining her neck and her shoulder, and unfortunately, the back of the room seemed to be where most of the information about her captor was.

_He knows about Sasha... and maybe where she is. If I manage to get free and stop him, I might be able to ask him about her._

Marcy sighed... she didn't know any really good interrogation techniques, and didn't know if she'd be willing to use them if she did. She hated Thorne for hurting Anne and Sasha, but she didn't hate him, or anyone for that matter, enough to torture him... maybe she could offer him something in return? She sighed... that was a bridge she'd cross when she came to it. She looked down at her feet, secured tightly to the legs of the chair. The chair itself wasn't attached to the floor, so if she could push her feet into the floor, she might be able to scoot herself across the room... but when she tried, she saw that her toes were stopping about a centimeter short.

_No good,_ thought Marcy.  _Moving the chair is out, unless I can wriggle my legs free._

She looked around the room again.

_I need to find out if he's got my cloak somewhere. Not just for my Switch, but for my crossbow. If I had that, I could get free... provided I could even reach it._

From what Marcy could see, the room was meagerly furnished, though there was a dresser near the back corner that her cloak had most likely been stashed in, along with her weapons if he hadn't thrown them away.

_I hope he didn't throw away my crossbow... I really like that thing._

Marcy bowed her head and sighed again. She was scared, for sure, but she was also ashamed to have been lured out to that alley and captured so easily.

_Why'd I follow that note? Am I so desperate to get us home that I'd walk right into a trap that, now that I think about it, was just about as obvious as traps could be? Am I really like those dumb JRPG heroes who wander into the villain's dungeon with the magical MacGuffin, knowing that they're just gonna get themselves caught and forced to hand it over?_

Marcy rolled her eyes and snickered a bit under her gag, enjoying a small laugh at her own naivete.

_Guess if I want to be a hero, I've got to take the good with the bad. Good Is Dumb is another overused trope, but I can totally see that there's some truth in it!_

Marcy began to flex her shoulders inside the ropes, thinking that there might be some slack in the ropes around her arms that wasn't present in the ropes around her wrists. As she struggled, she continued to look around the room for any clues about Thorne or anything she might be able to use to get free. She also thought about Anne... and Sasha. She remembered what Anne had told her about their captivity, and how Sasha could have escaped on her own... but risked her life to come back and rescue Anne when she was about to be drowned. Like Anne, she had mixed thoughts about Sasha... Sasha could be cruel, and manipulative, and selfish... but she could also be brave, and there were many times when she stuck her neck out to protect them. Sasha saving Anne's life was completely in character for her... but at the same time, so was the two of them getting into a potentially lethal sword fight.

_This place has changed all of us,_ thought Marcy. She could feel the ropes around her shoulders shifting around a little bit, and kept working at them, though they hadn't seemed to loosen up since she'd started struggling.  _I've gotten braver, Sasha's gotten... angrier, maybe. And Anne?_

Actually... Anne hadn't seemed to change all that much. Sure, she was adapting to life in this new world just like Marcy, but she was always brave and eager to make friends, and this place hadn't changed any of that at all. Anne was still her energetic, kind, ferocious self, and Marcy loved her more than ever. Anne was making so many friends in Newtopia, and Marcy couldn't help but be in awe at just how many people gravitated to her.

_Anne's still Anne... I missed her so much. I'm so glad she's here in Newtopia now. I've made friends here too, but I was so lonely without Anne... I almost wish she was here now._

Of course, Marcy didn't want Anne to be captured and tied up right alongside her, that would've been a nightmare! If Anne was trapped here too, Marcy didn't know if they'd have any hope of escaping... at least not before Thorne got to carry out his twisted plans for them. She might've felt a bit braver with Anne around, but she had a feeling that being here would've brought back a lot of Anne's lingering trauma about the incident, and Marcy didn't know if she'd be able to calm her friend down in that situation. And yet... she missed Anne, terribly. As much as she hated the damsel in distress trope and the idea of being rescued, she knew that if Anne kicked down that door and came in at that exact moment, Marcy wouldn't have minded... she'd have been quite happy to see her friend come to the rescue.

_Anne... I hope you're okay out there._

Marcy resumed her struggling, but none of the ropes had budged! Her arms were still pinned down tightly, and trying to free her ankles hadn't been successful either. She tried to push her tongue against her lips to free her mouth from the tape, but the tape held fast as well.

_I'm really stuck here, aren't I?_

Marcy didn't give up. She continued to struggle, but as the minutes ticked by with no sign of rescue or escape, she could feel herself getting more and more worried. The longer she stayed here, the more danger she was in, and the more danger Anne was in. She looked around the room again, but the ideas weren't coming.

_There's got to be something here! A nail, a hook, something!_

Marcy tried rocking back and forth to tip the chair over, but the chair was quite heavy, and no matter how hard she jerked or what direction she moved her body, the chair didn't budge! Marcy began to get more and more frustrated, more and more desperate... she growled, she cried out, she even tried yelling for help a few times, swallowing her pride and calling out like the cliched damsels in her cartoons!

_Help! Somebody, help me please! Get me out of here, HELP!_

Marcy could hear her own muffled cries echoing in the small apartment and felt a wave of shame wash over her. After all the 'leveling up' she'd done, she was still just a helpless, frightened girl calling out for someone to come rescue her. She felt a tear start to form in her eye... she couldn't help but shake the fact that if something happened to Anne, it would be all her fault. She tried to fight off those thoughts, but they kept coming, and she choked out a muffled sob, feeling ashamed and scared and frustrated all at once, and wanting, more than anything, to be back home in her world with her friends and her family and...

… _I hate it here._

She hated that feeling most of all. What was she thinking? She loved Newtopia... it was as thrilling and fun as the worlds from her games and shows and books... a fantasy come true, a place where she was somebody, she was a hero! She got to go on a new quest every single day, she got to uncover secrets and knowledge from a whole new world in another dimension! She got to be brave and smart and strong and only a little bit clumsy, and instead of being some nerd who always tripped over herself and walked into things, she was a legend, with her own statue and her own squad and her own crossbow!

_No,_ thought Marcy, clenching her fists behind her back and wiping her tears away on her shoulder.  _I don't hate it here, I just hate being tied up and gagged in some creepy toad's creepy apartment! I'll get out of this, and I'll protect Anne, and I'll stop Thorne, and I'll get us home!_

Marcy's eyes narrowed in determination... and then the door opened.

_Is it Thorne...?_ thought Marcy, her eyes focused on the doorway. When she saw who it really was, she let out a gasp.

“Marcy!” Anne shouted, immediately rushing over to her.

_Anne!_ Marcy muffled, leaning forward toward her friend. She could see the fear in Anne's eyes, reflecting the last time the girl had come into a room to see one of her friends in this position.  _Anne, hurry!_

“It's okay, Mar-Mar, I'm here... I'll get you free!”

Anne reached to pull the tape off of Marcy's mouth, and Marcy breathed a sigh of relief... then she saw a shadowy figure over Anne's shoulder, holding a tube to his mouth.

_ANNE!_ screamed Marcy through her gag.  _LOOK OUT!_

“Huh?”

Anne turned, just in time to see Thorne shooting a sleeping dart at her. She swung herself to the side, and the dart embedded itself into the far wall.

“You!” shouted Anne, her fists clenching, her rage overtaking her trauma as she walked toward the toad holding her best friend captive. “I'll kick your ass!”

Before Thorne could fire another sleeping dart, Anne struck him with a ferocious left hook, sending him sprawling to the floor. Marcy watched, giving a silent cheer as she saw Anne deck Thorne, and her racing heart calmed itself slightly.

_Anne's got this,_ thought Marcy.  _Also, when we get back home, don't let your mom hear you swearing like that!_

“Feisty little brat,” muttered Thorne, rubbing his jaw and watching as Anne stalked toward him.

“You should've stayed in jail, you creep! Now I'm gonna make you wish you'd never been born!”

Anne was absolutely furious, angrier than Marcy had ever seen her before.

_The last time she talked to me about what Thorne did to her and Sasha, she was scared and crying... but now that she sees him again, she's going right at him! Maybe I was wrong about how she handles her trauma... or maybe it's the fact that I'm in danger? Anne... you've always tried so hard to protect me._

Marcy was genuinely touched by Anne's fury, and her heart started to race again... but even as she watched Anne's rage build, she still felt the familiar shame and determination from before. She was glad that Anne was here to save her, but she hated the fact that she even needed saving in the first place! She wanted to be able to protect herself, but here she was, being saved by Anne again...

“You're awfully cocky,” said Thorne, as Anne loomed over him.

“Shut up! You'll pay for hurting Marcy, you lousy piece of-”

Thorne suddenly stuck out his tongue, striking Anne right in the eye. As Anne screamed and recoiled, Thorne swept one of his legs under Anne's feet, knocking her to the ground.

_No!_ screamed Marcy, watching as Anne writhed in pain, and then watching Thorne as he ran to the dresser.  _Anne, are you okay?_

Anne struggled back to her feet, while Thorne opened up the dresser. Inside was all of Marcy's stolen things... her cloak, her crossbow, her Nintendo Switch...

_Yes! My Switch is still here! I hope he didn't run down the battery..._ thought Marcy, before scolding herself for forgetting that Anne was still in danger.  _Anne, be careful!_

Thorne picked up a bolo from the closet, tossing it at Anne's legs as she ran toward him. She saw it coming and leapt over it, avoiding being snared.

“Not today!” Anne shouted, lunging at Thorne. “Hi-yaaaaaaaaaa-”

Thorne pulled out something else... a large billy club. He smacked it across Anne's midsection, impacting her stomach and her ribs, and immediately knocking her down flat on her back. She cried out in pain, coughing and holding her gut, as Thorne smiled and walked over to her. Nearby, Marcy watched in horror, shaking as she watched her friend gasping in agony on the ground.

_Anne! No, no, no! Anne, I'm so sorry...!_

Marcy wasn't worried for her own safety, not even a tiny bit... she was completely scared for Anne, who could only watch helplessly as Thorne swung his club down at her again.

“No!” Anne gasped out, reaching up and grabbing the club, and trying to tug it away from the aggressive toad. “I won't let you... hurt Marcy...!”

Marcy gasped again, and twisted in her chair.

_No! She's not even thinking about herself, she's only thinking about me! And she's only here BECAUSE of me!_ Marcy accelerated her struggles, working her shoulders, her wrists, and her ankles, trying to rock the chair again, struggling with everything she had to get free as her terrified eyes continued to watch Anne wrestling on the ground with Thorne.  _I shouldn't need saving! I shouldn't need Anne to come rescue me again! This is all my fault... I'm not good enough to keep myself safe. I'm the one who got all of us into this mess by finding that stupid music box. If it hadn't been for me, Sasha wouldn't have made Anne steal it! If it hadn't been for me..._

“Aaaaaaaaaah!” Anne cried out, as Thorne's billy club slammed into her shoulder. “Stop hitting me, you asshole! Let Marcy go! I'm the one you've got a problem with, not her and not Sasha!”

“All of you humans are a threat to our world! That box brought you here to destroy all of Amphibia, and I won't let any of you carry out your plans!”

“Dude, we didn't ASK to come here! The box brought us here against our will! The only reason we need it is to go home! What the hell is your problem?!”

Anne pushed Thorne off of her and staggered to her feet, only for Thorne to smack her across the leg with the club, bringing her down to one knee. He swung at her head, and she dodged to the side and headbutted him in the face, knocking him onto his back.

“Marcy... I gotcha....” stammered Anne, limping over to her bound friend on her one good leg.

_Anne, I'm sorry, this is all my fault!_ Marcy whimpered, another tear coming down her face.

“Hey, hey, no... none of this is your fault, Marcy... you're my best friend, you'll always be my best friend...” Anne reached up and wiped a tear from Marcy's face, giving her a reassuring smile.

_It's my fault we're here,_ muffled Marcy, shedding another tear. Anne wiped it away too, and leaned in, placing their foreheads together.

“I love you, Marcy, and no matter what, we're getting out of this together,” said Anne, promising her friend that both of them would be okay. Marcy felt a wave of warmth come over her, blushing a bit at her friend's declaration of love, and nuzzled her nose against Anne's, trying her best to smile under her gag. “That's it, Marcy, it's gonna be okay... I promise, it's gonna be-”

Suddenly, Anne felt her arms being wrapped up, and looked back to see that Thorne had picked up his bolo again and had wrapped it around her! She then saw him raising his billy club over her head, and let out a loud gasp.

“No!” Anne screamed, kicking out one of her legs and slamming it into Thorne's face. This gave her some breathing room, but not very much, and she saw Thorne coming at her again. “Aaaaaaaah!”

Anne was unable to hold him back this time, taking an unprotected blow to the forehead that briefly dazed her. She scooted back against the wall, trying to use her legs to keep Thorne back, but he pinned her down and raised his club again.

“Since you love your little friend so much, I think I'll make you watch her die,” said Thorne maliciously.

“You bastard!” Anne shrieked, struggling furiously in her bonds as Marcy watched helplessly from her chair, screaming into her gag with more tears coming down her cheeks. “Why do you hate us so much? Why do you hate MARCY so much? She's never hurt anyone, she's the nicest person I've ever known!”

“It doesn't matter how nice she is, she's a threat, just like you,” said Thorne, bringing down the club.

“NO!” Anne screamed, breaking out of the ropes encasing her arms, and raising up her hand to stop the club, only for it to come down hard on two of her fingers. “Aaaaaaaah!”

Feeling that her fingers might be broken, Anne shrieked and pulled back her hand, using her other hand to protect it as she held both of them to her chest. Thorne smiled viciously, as Marcy could only watch.

_Anne can't beat him... she's trying so hard, but she can't..._

Marcy began struggling again, focusing on freeing her wrists, but the ropes weren't coming loose! All she had managed to do was rub them up against the back of the chair, but they weren't fraying or weakening, and even if they were, it was only a little bit and not nearly fast enough to free herself... Anne was doomed, and Marcy couldn't do anything to stop it.

_I'm a failure... I might be smart, but I'm not strong enough to free myself from being tied to a chair... I'm just some pathetic damsel in distress, like Daphne Blake or Princess Peach! I'M PRINCESS PEACH!_

Marcy groaned in agony.

_The only thing I'm good at is setting myself on fire._

Marcy continued to rub her ropes against the chair, but they still weren't budging, even with all the friction she was creating...

_Wait a minute. Friction... friction makes heat, heat makes fire, and with my lousy luck...!_

“So, Anne... before I knock you out, is there anything else you'd like to tell me? Would you like to beg for you friend's life again?”

Anne gritted her teeth... and kicked straight up, right between Thorne's legs. Thorne gasped, howling in pain and grabbing his crotch.

“Oh, sweet, frogs really do have nuts!” said Anne, laughing as Thorne writhed in pain. “Or, well, toads... you know.”

But Thorne recovered quickly, and before Anne could stand, he stomped on her leg, forcing out another cry of pain from her.

“I wasn't going to torture your friend before... but now....” Thorne growled, his eyes narrowed in rage. He raised up the club, and Anne raised her arms to shield herself. “...wait a minute, do I smell burning?”

Thorne turned to see the chair that Marcy had been tied to now engulfed in flames, and surrounded by burning ropes... with no one sitting in it.

“Marcy?!” shouted Anne, looking around for her friend.

As Thorne went to look for her as well, an arrow slammed into the sleeve of his cloak, pinning him up against the wall. He tried to pull out the arrow, only for a second arrow to hit his other sleeve... and then several more arrows, pinning his legs and the side of his cloak to the wall, trapping him helplessly. Anne and Thorne both looked to see Marcy standing in the center of the room, now wearing her cloak and holding her crossbow, totally free except for the several layers of duct tape still plastered over her mouth.

_And that's what you get when you mess with Marcy Wu!_ taunted Marcy, though it was badly muffled, and she soon realized that she had forgotten to ungag herself before engaging Thorne.  _Wait, what... oh, oops._

“Marcy!” shouted Anne happily, getting up and limping over to her friend. “Uh, you got a little... tape... over... your face.”

_I know, I know, help me get it off..._ muffled Marcy, who reached up to her face with Anne and began the very slow and painstaking process of yanking the tape off her mouth, as Thorne tried to struggle free from the wall to no avail. Anne began peeling one corner, Marcy began peeling the other, and slowly but surely, the two friends worked together to ungag her.  _Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow._

“Hold still, your hair's caught in...” Anne glared briefly at Thorne. “You asshole, you wrapped it around her hair?!”

_It's okay, it's okay, I just about got it... ow. Ow. Ow. Ow._

Eventually, after lots of careful tugging and unwrapping, the tape had been pulled off enough for Marcy to speak, though the two still needed to get it off the rest of the way.

“Ow. Ow. Ow... just about... ow... ow....”

“Marcy, that was amazing, how'd you get free?”

“Well, I'm always catching myself on fire, so I realized...”

“Oh yeah, duh!”

“I know, right? It was kinda risky, but-”

“No, it was awesome, and you saved me!”

“Awww, shucks, Anne...”

Finally, the two girls got all the tape off of Marcy's face... and just in time, because the entire apartment had caught on fire. The two girls briefly scrambled around, panicking, while Thorne continued to struggle against the wall.

“You can't just leave me here!” he shouted. Anne and Marcy looked at each other, and Anne let out a groan.

“Yeah, he's right, we can't, let's get him down. But first...”

Anne picked up the blowgun and shot a dart into Thorne's neck, rendering him unconscious and making it safe to pull him down from the wall. The two girls hoisted the toad criminal up between them and started to walk out of the burning apartment, before Marcy realized she'd left something very important behind.

“My Nintendo Switch!”

“What? Marcy, come on!”

Marcy ran back for the game console, which thankfully was undamaged by the flames, and put it in her cloak before running back to help Anne carry out Thorne. The two got him out into the street just in time, dumping him on the ground and finally getting a chance to catch their breath. The girls looked at each other for a few moments, breathing heavily, their minds still racing after everything that had happened... and then they hugged each other tightly, a tear streaming down each of their faces.

“Thanks for saving me, Marcy...” said Anne. “I thought, you know, I'd be the one to save you, but...”

Anne sighed, parting from the hug and looking somewhat guilty.

“Honestly, even though you said you don't need to be saved or protected, I... I still like looking out for you, you know? I guess I'm just used to always helping you out back home... and even though you've gotten a lot stronger out here, I can't help wanting to protect you. I'm sorry if it makes you feel embarrassed, I just can't help myself.”

Marcy smiled, shaking her head and placing her hand on Anne's shoulder.

“Hey, I get it, you like to help everyone,” said Marcy. “I've seen it out here, you're always going around helping people, and I'm no different. I'm glad this place has given me a chance to use my brains and my skills, but to be honest, I'm actually kind of glad you came to my rescue, even if ended up being the one saving you. It's nice to know there's someone out here who's always got my back, and as long as you're not smothering me like you were before, I'm okay with you looking out for me.”

“That was pretty clever, using your own clumsiness to get out of that chair,” said Anne, playfully elbowing her friend in the ribs. “Seriously though, we gotta work on the fire thing.”

“Maybe it's my superpower?” said Marcy. “You know, like Luna from _Vagabondia Chronicles_!”

“You've already got a superpower,” Anne replied, placing her hand on Marcy's head and running it through her hair. “And I never would've thought of a way out of there.”

“Oh... are you okay?” asked Marcy, looking her friend up and down. “I know you took a few hits...”

“Eh, I'll be fine, not the first time I've gotten hurt in Amphibia,” said Anne, looking at her injured hand. “I don't even think my fingers are broken, just bruised...”

“That's a relief, I wouldn't know what to do if somebody broke my fingers! I need them to play my Switch!”

“And shoot your crossbow.”

“...oh yeah, that too.”

As the Newtopian Guard was called over to take Thorne back into custody, Anne and Marcy walked down the street together, still talking about everything that had happened... and what they were going to do now.

“Are you sure you're okay?” asked Anne, placing a hand on Marcy's shoulder. “After that creep kidnapped me and Sasha, I was messed up for a little while.”

“I'll be okay,” said Marcy. “It helps that I was able to get myself out... to tell you the truth, after all that, I'm feeling more confident than ever about surviving in Newtopia.”

“That's awesome, Marcy,” replied Anne, who seemed to be somewhat in awe of her friend's ability to bounce back from such a potentially traumatizing ordeal. “...think you might be able to hang out for a bit? You might be okay, but I'm starting to get kind of freaked out... I never thought I'd have to deal with that guy again.”

“Sure, but what about the Plantars?” asked Marcy. “I'm sure they're worried about you...”

“Eh, I think they'll be fine spending one night away from me. Besides, now that you've met Thorne, I'd kinda like to hear your theories about him. He talked about that box a lot, and I wonder what he knows about Sasha...”

“Oh yeah, I _was_ thinking about asking him, but the guards took him away before I remembered. Maybe I'll pay him a visit in jail to see what he knows. Hey, maybe we could take our minds off what happened for a while with a trip to the arcade? There's a really awesome one nearby, lots of games and prizes and-”

“Eh... I got banned from that place for freaking out some kids in line, it's a long story.”

“Mmm, I think I can still get you in,” said Marcy with a smirk. “I've already got line cutting privileges for chasing a gang of delinquents out of there last week, I bet I could pull some strings and get that ban revoked!”

“And if not?”

“We can play my Switch together! C'mon, what do you say?”

Anne just laughed and leaned on Marcy's shoulder, reaching over and holding her hand tightly. Marcy blushed again, but leaned back up against Anne, grateful for her friend's presence and her warmth and her kindness.

Marcy actually _was_ feeling a bit traumatized after everything that had happened in Thorne's apartment... but with Anne safe and sound by her side, she was able to push everything else away. Marcy might've been strong enough to handle Amphibia on her own, but Anne being with her made her feel a lot stronger... and as the two walked the streets of Newtopia together, the sun setting in the sky above, Marcy had almost completely forgotten about her ordeal.

_This is perfect. Me, Anne, here..._

Marcy loved it here... and now that she had Anne with her, she could forget about a lot more than her ordeal... even the fact that she wanted to go back home at all.

_Maybe I belong here in Newtopia._

As the two continued to walk to the arcade, Marcy put her head on Anne's shoulder, and Anne nuzzled it tenderly. The two friends had already been through so much, but no matter what they endured, their friendship always emerged, stronger than ever.

_Maybe we belong here... together._


End file.
